Disintegrator of laboratory test size for wet disintegration of cellulosic pulp samples



Dec. 26, 1950 R. M. LEVY EI'AL 2,535,302

DISINTEGRATOR 0F LABORATORY TEST SIZE FOR ws'r DISINTEGRATION OF CELLULOSIC PULP SAMPLES 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 3, 1944 Fi R 3mm nt 1:

WM 221/. if 7 a M file 1 7 (Ittomcu.

Dec. 26, 1950 R. M. LEVY ETAL 2,535,302

DISINTEGRATOR 0F LABORATORY TEST SIZE FOR WET DISINTEGRA'IION 0F CELLULOSIC PULP smruas Filed lay s, 1944 s Sheets-Sheet 2 Zmnentom:

\ tie z? attorney.

' Dec.26, 1950 v R M DISINTEGRATOR 0F LEVY EI'AL 2,535,302 LABORATORY TEST SIZE FOR WET DISIN'I'EGRATION OF CELLULOSIC PULP SAIPLES Filed llay 3, 1944 3 Shets-Sheot 5 Nrk) ' Juventors:

Patented Dec. 26, 1950 DISINTEGRATOR OF LABORATORY TEST SIZE FOR WET DISINTEGRATION OF CELLULOSIC PULP SAMPLES Robert M. Levy and Ward D. Harrison, Brevard, N. 0., assignors to Ecusta. Paper Corporation, a

corporation of Delaware Application May 3, 1944, Serial No. 533,982

2 Claim.

This invention relates to method and means for determining the disperse viscosity of cellulose. and more particularly to a specially designed wet disintegrator that enables the operator to use moist pulp samples. Dry samples may be used but are not required as they are in the conventional determination heretofore used. The procedure and machine are well adapted to massproduction control in a pulp and paper mill and may be utilized by unskilled labor and at a rapid rate with high degree of reproducibility of test results.

Heretofore, the commonly used viscosity determinations involve the major problem of rapidly obtaining accurate weight of the wet pulp sample. This usually requires some means for rapidly passing a blast of warm air through the wet pulp sample. In some cases this drying treatment is preceded by washing of the pulp with acetone, which involves an expensive solvent recovery.

Rapid drying of the sample sometimes causes degradation of the pulp that results in a decrease in the viscosity. Also, in actual practice, the dried pulp sample cannot be disintegrated without changing the moisture content upon exposure to the atmosphere. Furthermore the dried pulp samples usually require variable amounts of solvent.

In accordance with the present invention, the foregoing difllculties that characterize the prior practices, are overcome. The wet disintegration system of this invention avoids any pretreatment of the pulp, and enables immediate, rapid use of the wet pulp without drying, and provides ac curate, rapid determination of the viscosity.

The method comprises the procedure of wet disintegration of the pulp to give a low consistency pulp suspension, followed by measurement of the latter in a fixed volumetric quantity for dissolving in cupriethylenediamine solvent, and finally measurement of the viscosity of the resulting solution with suitable equipment such as a capillary viscometer. For determining the consistency of the pulp suspension being tested, an aliquot of the disintegrated pulp suspension is filtered and dried on a heated steam cylinder in afew minutes time and weighed. This operation cani be carried out simultaneously with the viscosity determination above mentioned and thereby saving considerable amount'of time.

-Wet disintegration of the pulp is a fundamental feature of this new viscosity determination and a machine especially adapted for that purpose has been developed. It comprises a chamber for holding the pulp and relatively large volume of water, and inlet and drain connections; a rotary beater roll and a cooperating, resiliently mounted bed-plate between which the pulp is disintegrated. After the beater roll has been rotated for about 5 minutes the pulp is disintegrated and dispersed in the water to give a fluid, low consistency pulp suspension which may be measured in a pipette.

The details of construction of the disintegrator machine and method of operation thereof will be clearly understood by reference to the following description of the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation;

Fig. 3 is a section taken on or about the lines 3-3 of Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail view of beater roll and the bed-plate in cooperative relation to each other;

Fig. 5 is a top plan view of the bed-plate; and

Fig. 6 is a section on the line 6-8 of Fig. 4.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, the numeral l0 designates the main body plate or base member of the supporting frame of the machine, the same being mounted on legs or standards Ii having rubber or other suitable cushioning pads I! on circular foot flanges II at the lower ends thereof.

Extending up from the main body plate or base member ill is a pair of rigid, vertical frame plates it having base-footing flanges l5 that are bolted or otherwise fastened securely on the top side of said base member ill. These frame plates it are spaced a sufficient distance apart to receive and support between them a, generally cylindrical, hollow, body member I6, which is held securely therebetween by tie-rods I! having their end portions extended through alined holes in said plates l4 and secured by jam nuts I8 that are tightened against the adjacent outer face portions of the plates.

The cylindrical hollow body member it provides the working chamber in which the respective samples of wet pulp material are received and therein disintegrated. This cylinder, as shown, has an opening at the top thereof, which is normally closed by a cover ID, that rests on the body member i6 as shown at 20, and is sealed in its closed position by a gasket or the like 2|. The cover i9 is provided with a strap-like handle 21, the middle portion of which is raised in spaced relation to the cover itself. with end portions 23 projected beyond opposite sides of the cover.

These end portions 23 of the handle member are formed with open-ended slots (see Fig. l) to receive bolts 24 that are hingediy mounted in bifurcated lugs 25 provided on the adjacent outer face portions of the frame plates i4 (see Fig. 2) whereby said bolts 24 can be swung into and out of the slotted end portions 23 of the handle member. The bo ts 24 are provided with wing-nuts 28 that are tightened upon the underlying handle extensions 23 to hold the cover in its closed and sealed position on the body cylinder i8. By this same token the wing-nuts 28 are readily loosened and the bolts 24 swung out of place to permit opening of the closure It, at will.

Located within the body cylinder I6 is a rotor 21 comprising a cylindrical body having its circumierential portion formed with longitudinal grooves 23 cut rectangularly and radially therein and affording sharp corners at opposite sides of the several ribs 29 produced by the said longitudinal grooving of the cylindrical body and thus constituting the body as a beater roll" and the same will be generally so termed hereinafter. This rotor 21 (see Fig. 6 for details) is provided with stub-shafts or spindles 30, 3|, at its ends, the same being placed with a drive or forced fit in axial bores provided for the purpose in the rotor body or otherwise fixedly secured to the body.

When the rotor 21 is placed in working position in the body cylinder it, the shaft members 30, 3|, are projected outside the same through alined openngs in its end walls and the adjoining frame plates i4. Sleeved on said shaft members are packing elements 32 of rubber or other material suitable for the purpose pressed tight against the adjacent outer face portion of the contiguous frame plate l4 surrounding the opening therein through which the shaft member extends. The pressure of each packing element 32 is exerted and controlled by a follower-plate 33, abutting the adjacent side of the same and being mounted slidably on screw-studs 34 projected from the adjacent frame plate. These studs 34 have thereon jam-nuts 35 that are screwed up against said follower plate 33 so as to compress the interposed packing element with such compacting deformity and flow thereof to seal effectively the opening in frame plate i4 to prevent leakage of the pulp water content of the working chamber in the body cylinder ll, yet not offering any undue frictional resistance on the shaft member to interfere with rotation of the beater roll under motor power to be presently described.

The shaft member 30 has a reduced end portion 38 (see Fig. 6) that is journalled in a bearing 31 at the upper end of a standard 33 (see Figs. 1 and 2). This standard 38 is of an inclined form, it having a base portion 33 bolted or otherwise secured firmly on top of the baseplate III of the machine adjacent one side thereof 40 is extended some distance beyond the journal bearing 4i and is provided at its end with a couinterposed between the driving shaft and the armature shaft of the motor, in any approved manner. But, in any case, the entire machine will be embodied practically in a compact, selfcontained structure. mounted on a vertical frame plate 48 having an angular foot extension 49 which is bolted or otherwise secured rigidly on the base-plate i0 adjacent the end thereof.

At the bottom of the cylindrical hollow body I. is a bed-plate or block 50 which is mounted with capability of an up-ancl-down movement in opposed, abutting, cooperative relation to the beater roll portion of the rotor 21, the top face of this element 50 being hollowed out arcuately crosswise thereof and corresponding substantially to the curvature of the roll 21.

The top face portion of the bed-pate or block 50 is grooved-and-ribbed longitudinally in a manner similar to the groove and rib formation of the circumferential portion of the beater roll 21, but on a diagonal thereto, so that, when said roll 21 is rotated in its peripherally-opposed relation to the bed-plate or block 50, a substantial shearing and disintegration and dispersement of the fibers occurs rapidly. This produces the desired fluid, highly dispersed pulp suspenson which can be measured in a pipette as hereinbefore described as to the purposes of the present invention.

The bed-plate or block 50 works in a rectangularly-walled opening 5i which extends transversely of the cyl'ndrical body l6 at the bottom thereof. This elongated openin 5| is closed at one end, as at 52 (see Fig. 6), but it is open throughout its length, at the bottom, and is also open at its opposite end (see Figs. .4 and 6) The opening 5| is located in a substantial, thickened enlargement 53 of the bottom portion of the cylindrical body l6 (see Fig. 4) and the bottom of the opening is covered by a sheet of rubber or other suitable waterproof resilient material 54 which is, in effect, a diaphragm, and the same is secured to the under side of the thickened body portion 53 by a rectangular frame 55 screwed. bolted or otherwise fastened in place. So, too, the adjacent overlying face port'on of the body enlargement 53 is preferably recessed, as at 56, to lend ample capability to the diaphragm 54 for upward movement of the bed-plate or block 50 which is supported directly thereon (see Figs. 4 and 6).

Bearing constantly against the under side of the diaphragm 54 is a top-rounded,"upstanding lug 51 which extends across the inner end portion of a lever-plate 53 that is hingedly mounted between the pair of frame plates. l4 of the machine (see Figs. 1 and 3). The outer end portion 59 of this lever-plate 5B is tapered, and at the extreme end portion thereof is an upstanding lug 60 having a knife-edge at its top. This knife-edged lug 60 engages in a substantially counterpart notch in the bottom edge portion of a fiat, platelike, lever-bar 5| which is hingedly mounted at one end, as at 82, on a bracket extension 63 of the base-plate it of the machine. This lever-bar As shown, the motor 41 is- 0i extends for a considerable distance from its pivotal support and is provided at its free end witha weight 64 (see Figs. 1 and 2). The weight M, as shown, is of cylindrical form and it is provided with an axial bore therethrough, so as to be fitted removably on an upstanding-stud 65 provided on the adjacent end portion of the lever-bar 6|.

In practice, the weight 6| is of a predetermined, definite size and weight to cause the lever-bar ii to exercise suilicent downward pressure on the outer end portion of the lever-plate l8 and thereby tilt said plate to raise the inner end portion thereof so thatits lug portion 51 presses against the diaphragm II and correspondingly lifts the supported bed-plate or block 50 and maintains the same in constant engagement with the cooperating beater roll 21 thereabove. In the connection, instead of a single weight being used, a number of weights of different sizes and relative weight may be provided and used to vary the effective pressure exerted on the bed-plate S0 in the operation of the machine.

In order to raise the lever-bar 6| and hold it in an inoperative position, as occasion may require from time to time, a rotary cam member 88 is located under said bar (see Figs. 1 and 2). As shown, this cam element 88 is fixed on the end of a shaft 61 which extends across the baseplate ID of the machine and is ioumalled in eyebolts or the like 88 mounted on the base-plate in near the opposite side margins thereof, and the shaft being held against longtudinal movement by collars 89 secured thereon and opposedly abutting said eye-bolts or hearing members 68. At the other end of the shaft 81 is a handle member 10, which, as shown, is provided by turning the end portion of the shaft downwardly at a right angle, thus making the handle an integral part 01' the shaft.

The cam element N is located normally below the lever-bar 6| to permit freedom of movement of the latter in its functional operation, but, when turned, the high side of said cam element engages and lifts the lever-bar; and, to hold the parts in their engaged relation, the high side of the cam element is flattened oil as shown more clearly in Fig.2.

The chamber in the cylindrical body It is filled, as herenbefore stated, through the top opening which is normally closed and sealed by the cover It. In order to drain said chamber after use, there is provided an inclined discharge spout or tube II which opens at its inner endinto the chamber of the cylindrical body I6 adjacent the bed-plate or block 50 (see Fig. 3). Slidable longitudnally in this spout or tube H, with a leaktight fit, is a valve-pin or rod 12 which is releasably fastened in place by a set-screw 13 entered through a threaded opening provided for the purpose in the side of the spout or tube (see Figs.'1 and 2).

The inner end of the valve-pin or rod 12 is beveled off arcuately, as at. H (see Fig. 3), in order to conform to the inner surface curvature of the adjacent bottom portion of the chamber in the cylindrical body It; and, to prevent turning of the valve-pin or rod in the spout or tube 1 I, it is provided with a radial pin or lug 15 which enters an openended, longitudinal slot I6 formed in the end of the spout or tube. Th s slot-andpin provision enables the ready insertion and removal of the valve-pin or rod 12, at will, and at the same time holds the positioned valve element against rotation.

For the purpose of flushing out the chamber of the cylindrical body l6, either before or after 'use, a water pipe I1 is tapped into the body eninto the chamber above, from whence it is drained out through the discharge spout or tube H, which latter is provided both for the purpose of this flushing drainage and the removal of the fiber disintegrated and dispersed wet pulp as aforesaid.

In use, the machine is placed over a drain pan or tray 19, which latter, as shown, is open at one end as at 80. In order that the pan or tray 19 is inclined downwardly from its closed end to its open end, when placed on a level, horizontal bench, table or other fiat surface in use, a rubber strip ll of a definite thickness (say, A; inch) is secured across the underside oi the tray near its closed end (see Fig. 3) and, at a short distance therefrom, another strip 82 or lesses thickness (say 1 inch) is secured; or, in other words,

the pan or tray 19 is supported at intervals so as to give the desired pitch or slant thereto to facilitate drainage. The particular reason for supporting the pan or tray I9 by the said strips II and '82 is that, in addition to giving the proper slant to the pan or tray, the strips are placed in substantially the exact position where two of the legs ll of the supporting frame of the machine are placed on the bottom of the pan or tray in use (see Fig. 3 In this way, the pan or tray has its necessar drainage slant and at the same time the machine is supported solidly on the pan or tray bottom and without undue vibration in its operation. A splash guard M is placed about the machine.

To facilitate the placing and removing the I bed-plate or block 50 in and from the working position on the 'cylindrical body It of the machine, the hereinbefore described bearing standard 3a is inclined and supported at its base out of the way of the element 50. The outer end portion of said element so is formed and projected in any approved manner for its convenient engagement and manipulation for its placement and removal, and such end portion may be fastened in place in any approved or conventional manner, such as, for example, by a retainer 83 as indicated more or less conventionally in Figs. 2 and 6.

Various modifications and changes may be made in the machine and method described hereinabove without departing from the scope of this invention, as defined in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A disintegrator of laboratory test size adapted for wet disintegration of cellulosic pulp samples for disperse viscosity determinations, comprising a cylindrical chamber for containing said wet pulp samples, a grooved rotor member disposed for rotation in said chamber in peripherally-opposed relation to an internal wall 'portion of said chamber, said chamber being formed with a recess at said wall portion and said recess having a lateral opening, a grooved block removably positioned in said recess in opposed relation to said rotor member, said grooved 7 a block being transversely removable from said recess through said lateral opening without disturbing said rotor member, a resilient diaphragm closing the bottom oi said mess and supporting said grooved block, and a weighting means bearing externally on said diaphragm for biasing said grooved block against said rotor member under a predetermined constant pressure.

2. A disintegrator oi. laboratory test size adapted for wet disintegration of cellulosic pulp samples for disperse viscosity determinations, comprising a cylindrical chamber for containing said wet pulp samples, an access opening in said chamber for introducing said wet pulp samples, a grooved rotor member disposed ior rotationin said chamber in peripheralLv-opposed relation to an internal wall portion 0! said chamher, said chamber being formed with a recess at said wall portion and said recess having a lateral opening, a grooved block member removably positioned in said recess in opposed relation to said rotor member, said grooved block being transversely removable from said recess through said lateral opening without disturbing said rotor member, a resilient diaphragm closing the bottom of said recess and supporting said grooved block, a weighting means bearing externally on said diaphragm for biasing said grooved block against said rotor member under a predetermined 8 a constant pressure. a drain conduit from sai chamber for removing the disintegrated pulp samples, a valve element in said conduit presenting a face flush with the internal wall 0! said chamber in closed position, and a second conduit running to the recess in said chamber whereby said chamber may be flushed when said grooved block is removed.

- ROBERT M. LEVY.

WARD D. HARRISON.

REFERENCES crrEn The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name a Date 364,687 I Tobie June 14, 1887 784,822 White Mar. 14, 1905 886,188 Caldwell Apr. 28, 1908 1,098,712 Coflleld June 2, 1914' 1,161,168 Trimbey Nov. 28, 1915 1,765,776 Schur June 24, 1930 2,174,774 Bolton Oct. 3, 1939 2,404,259 Veitch July 16, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 54,436 Norway Oct. 8, 1934 

